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Lips pursed, Rob nodded at Knox. “Man’s gonna run his own business, he needs to outfit his office.”
“Office? Oh yeah, guess I’m gonna have one of those now.” Chuckling, Knox opened the bag to reveal a heavy gold desk sign, the kind used by bankers and executives everywhere. Knox Robert Heinrich, CEO Measure Twice, LLC.
“We approved of the title,” Frank cackled. “Pretty spiffy, eh?”
“It’s amazing.” Knox’s voice came out all breathless.
“You’re the amazing one. And we’re so proud of you.” Rob pointed at the bag. “And there’s something in there from all of us too. For your office wall.”
Reaching back in the bag, Knox pulled out a large framed picture collage. The center was carved wood that read Family and surrounding it were all different pictures with Knox in them. Not off to the side, but centered, surrounded by the triplets at different ages, holding baby Keller last Wednesday, with Rob and Jessica at his graduation, with his mother and her wife, and with the grandparents. And one in the corner with me holding Keller while Knox crouched next to us, looking protectively at the baby and me.
“You chose one with Monroe in it.” Knox beamed, which was good because I was struggling not to cry. I pinched the bridge of my nose.
“He’s one of us now.” Rob slapped me on the back. “And if he doesn’t—”
Frank cut him off with a rude noise. “Take a number.”
“Quiet, you rowdy boys.” Free from greeting guests, Leon joined us, pointing at Knox and me. “These two are the real deal.”
“You’d know.” Frank snorted affectionately.
“I would,” Leon said archly. “And Rob’s right. Monroe is one of us now.”
“He is.” Setting aside his gifts, Knox came around to wrap his arms around me. “He’s one of us.”
And with that, I added another new label for myself: resident. I belonged here in Safe Harbor with Knox and my friends, and the community I wanted to create, the community that was already here, and the past which touched us all. And as Knox held me close, all my senses tingled, the sort of certainty reserved for unraveling a big investigation or discovering some fundamental truth. I was finally home. And that, along with my unwavering love for Knox, was my truth. This was home.
Epilogue
Holden
A single party. Couple of hours. I could get through one party for two of my best friends, even if I had to give myself a hell of a pep talk to get out of my car. Knox had texted that they’d left the driveway open for me to park. If I didn’t hurry up and get out, one of them would inevitably come out to see if I needed help with my chair.
“Did you bring a present for Monroe and Knox?” I asked Sam as I freed my chair from the special holder behind the driver’s side, setting it up before Sam could make it around from the passenger’s seat. Not unusual for December in Oregon, the weather was cold and rainy, a bitter wind matching my mood. I’d insisted on picking up Sam after he closed the coffee house for the evening rather than let him walk. I might be reluctant, but I wasn’t going to leave a friend to freeze.
“Of course.” Sam retrieved a small bag from his backpack in the car. Naturally, the guy who was in the middle of running a charity, a coffee shop, and closing on the Stapleton house had managed to come with what was undoubtedly the perfect gift. “It’s an ornament for their tree. One of the kids at the shelter is making them for sale, so I had one custom done for Monroe and Knox with their names and the year since it’s their first Christmas together.”
“Crap. I don’t have anything.” If I’d been thinking with anything other than end-of-term fuzzy brain, I would have brought a bottle of wine at least. Yesterday had been a bad pain day as well, with the cold weather rolling in, and I’d been more concerned with showing up, period. “I thought this was more of an open house for the B&B than a holiday party.”
“It’s both.” Sam’s smile looked as tight as mine felt. “It’s a chance for them to show off all their hard work here. When they do a tour of the upper floors, I’ll take lots of pictures for you.”
“Thanks.” A jaunty new sign on the front lawn proudly proclaimed Lucky Penny B&B with a large coin with a rainbow in the center off to one side. We’d all helped brainstorm names at trivia night a few weeks back, but in the end, Knox’s original suggestion had won. As I stared at the sign, my brain pinged with an incoming idea. “Hey. What about a coin machine?”
“A what?”
“They need one of those machines that flattens coins for the front hall. Like with the B&B logo or the town crest or something. I’m going to make some calls, see if I can find one used at a decent price.”
